The Princeton Review, a New York-based company known for its test preparation courses, education services and books, cited the university as “academically superb” and one of America’s Best Value Colleges in a list of 150 colleges designated as one of the best overall bargains—based on cost and financial aid. A total of 646 colleges and universities were evaluated in the survey.
The Washington Monthly, a District-based political magazine, ranks the university 17th among national universities on community and national service.
The list uses the percentage of students in Army or Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps, the percentage of graduates in the Peace Corps, the percentage of federal work-study grants used for community service projects, the total amount of research spending, the number of doctorates granted in the hard sciences and, as a measure of social mobility, the percentage of students on Pell Grants, with a bonus for schools whose graduation rates are higher than expected for having so many low-income students.
In the U.S. News list of the top national public universities, the university ranked 13th among 162 institutions surveyed. The university was ranked 17th in this category last year. In the magazine’s survey of 248 American universities—public and private—The University of Texas at Austin ranked 47th, a jump from 52nd a year ago.
In the peer assessment category, a qualitative measure of academic excellence and national reputation based on the opinions of presidents, provosts and deans of admissions, the university ranked in the top 25 among all national public and private universities.
Quantitative and qualitative measures are used to determine a university’s overall ranking. Among the magazine’s quantitative measures are graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, the percentage of classes under 20 students, the student-faculty ratio, an institution’s selectivity, its financial resources and alumni giving. Rankings of undergraduate programs such as business and engineering and specialty areas within those schools and colleges are determined by surveys of deans and senior faculty.
The university is highly ranked in the U.S. News survey of the best business and engineering undergraduate programs.
The McCombs School of Business ranked fifth (tied with two other schools), unchanged from last year. The McCombs’ accounting program ranked first in qualitative rankings of specialty areas, while its management information systems and marketing programs ranked third, and its management program ranked fifth.
The College of Engineering undergraduate program ranked 11th in the nation (tied with Princeton University), unchanged from a year ago. The civil engineering specialty area ranked fourth.
In the magazine’s list of “Programs to Look For,” the university is recognized for its excellence in undergraduate research/creative projects, in which students “typically take two or more linked courses as a group to get to know one another and their professors well.”
For more information contact: Don Hale, 512-475-6869.
